Pipe and conduit bracing is typically employed in buildings (e.g., hospitals, labs, offices, etc.) to support the weight of the pipes, conduits and their contents. Pipe and conduit bracing systems also prevent excessive lateral movement under earthquake loading. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, traditional bracing methods, which generally comprise about 95% of the market, typically consist of a steel rod hung vertically from the underside of a building structure to support the weight of the pipe or conduit and at least one diagonal bracing element that attaches to the pipe or conduit and to the underside of the building structure to resist lateral forces. A diagonal bracing element is typically placed in each orthogonal direction to prevent movement parallel and perpendicular to the pipe.
One of the primary deficiencies with the traditional bracing method is the need for at least two components to achieve a bracing system for a single pipe. The labor involved in installing these bracing systems can be considerable since the attachments of the diagonal braces to the building structure above are often some horizontal distance away from the pipe itself. It can be appreciated that these bracing systems can also introduce conflict with other pipes, ducts, conduit, structural framing or partition walls. In addition, traditional pipe and conduit bracing systems can introduce significant congestion into crowded runs of pipes and conduit, thereby necessitating close coordination between designer and constructer during installation. Traditional pipe and conduit bracing systems can also present challenges for retrofit construction where access is tightly controlled because of the need to maintain clean environments, such as in hospitals or labs. For example, many plenum spaces present tall spaces that necessitate long distances between pipe or conduit location and brace to building structure connection. In those cases, a large clean environment must be established to execute the installation of the bracing system.
Accordingly, it is desirable to employ a method and system of bracing pipes, which significantly reduces the footprint of element connections, reduces the number of bracing elements, reduces installation time and provides a more robust design that can accommodate field changes.